Does Mamma Mia 2 have an end credits scene? Since Marvel movies popularized the practice of putting a treat and sometimes sequel set-up at the end of the credits, many moviegoers are left wondering whether they should bother to stay until after the credits stop rolling for this movie or that.
Stop reading if you don’t want spoilers for Mamma Mia 2, the official title of which is Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again.
The answer to the question is that, yes, Mamma Mia 2 does have an end credits scene. It’s a brief scene that features a passport official in Greece who has a comic bit repeatedly making fun of people’s appearances in the actual movie. The quick scene does literally take place after the credits stop rolling. The character is played by British comedian Omid Djalili, and he flirts with Colin Firth’s character. If Donna won’t take him back, the character sings, the younger version of Harry should “Take A Chance On Me.” Then, he starts laughing. However, unlike a lot of end credits scenes in superhero movies especially, this one doesn’t clearly set up a sequel (unless we finally get to see Harry find the love of his life in another movie some day).
There’s another reason to stay for the credits: The first part of the credits features an entertaining dance-and-song sequence in which the older male and female characters in the movie dance with their younger selves while singing Super Trouper. You also get to see Meryl Streep a bit longer on screen. If you don’t want to learn Meryl’s fate as Donna in the movie, stop reading.
Here’s what you need to know:
The Sequel Contains Extensive Flashbacks to the Story of a Younger Donna
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Mamma Mia 2 weaves together a present-day story with a past one, splicing together a narrative involving Sophie (there’s a pregnancy! She isn’t sure a man will be at her side! She wants to run a Greek hotel!) with her mother’s. We get to learn the back story alluded to in Donna’s diary in the first hit movie (and play); in other words, we find out how Donna ended up with three different men in a short enough time to make it plausible that any of the three could be Sophie’s dad. (Amanda Seyfried returns as Sophie.)
GettyMeryl Streep.
The musical number at the beginning of the credits features the younger characters playing Sam, Harry, and Bill (Jeremy Irvine, Hugh Skinner, and Josh Dylan) dancing alongside the older versions (Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, and Stellan Skarsgård.) You also see Donna’s friends, Rosie and Tanya (Julie Walters and Christine Baranski), dance alongside their younger doppelgangers (Alexa Davies and Jessica Keenan Wynn). And Streep as Donna’s there, too, dancing alongside actress Lily James, who plays her younger self.
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Now, the big spoiler.
It’s a treat to see more of Donna because… sigh… the movie kills her off. Donna’s been dead a year in the sequel, although the movie never explains what happens to her, despite the sobbing a lot of the characters do at the mention of her name. Sophie’s trying to keep Donna’s Greek island hotel dreams alive while dealing with her own (somewhat underdeveloped as a plot point) long distance relationship troubles. (There’s even a fake website for Sophie’s/Donna’s hotel.) However, in this movie, Sky (Dominic Cooper) comes back for Sophie and, unlike Sam, he doesn’t quickly leave again because she’s not off with another man.
As with the first movie, Mama Mia 2 works because the ABBA music is always enjoyable and the themes of motherhood, fatherhood and friendship still deeply resonate. Although there’s less tension to this plot (it revolves around a storm that briefly prevents the hotel’s opening and the ever-present sadness caused by Donna’s death), it’s interesting to see the back story fleshed out, and the older actors, especially, still bring a lot of humor and charisma to the screen. When a ghostly Donna reappears in the church on the hill, the sequel finally proves it’s done the first movie justice. It was always about, on some level, a mother’s unflinching love for her daughter (and a father’s… or three as it were.)
Plus, there’s Cher. Had to add that in.